QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 13,152 Shares of Salesforce Inc. $CRM

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management reduced its Salesforce stake by 9.2%, selling 13,152 shares and retaining 130,194 shares valued at approximately $20.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.43% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Salesforce receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $275.14; ratings include 3 Strong Buys and 30 Buys.
• Salesforce reported quarterly EPS of $5.90, well above the $3.27 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 10.8% year over year to $11.35 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, representing a 0.7% annualized yield.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 9.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 130,194 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 13,152 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $20,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 43,398 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,790,000 after purchasing an additional 4,618 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden increased its holdings in Salesforce by 4,855.1% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 168,472 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $26,393,000 after acquiring an additional 165,072 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 117.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 315 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 184.5% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 17,983 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 11,663 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Wedbush initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 27th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.14.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $237.57 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $195.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $212.94 and a 200 day moving average of $190.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Salesforce Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.32 and a 1-year high of $269.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The business had revenue of $11.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.91 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 17th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.04%.

Key Salesforce News

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Salesforce, citing the company’s strong customer relationships and growing interest in Agentforce. Investor focus is on whether Agentforce can reach approximately $1.5 billion in annual recurring revenue and reaccelerate Salesforce’s growth. Wells Fargo Raises Salesforce’s Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise software stocks rallied even as broader large-cap technology shares weakened, with Salesforce among the stronger performers. The move suggests investors are rotating toward established software companies and viewing the sector as a potential beneficiary if spending shifts away from capital-intensive AI infrastructure. Enterprise Software Stocks Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentaries argued that Wall Street may be undervaluing Salesforce’s agentic-AI opportunity. Analysts and bullish investors see substantial upside if Agentforce becomes a meaningful growth engine, while Salesforce’s valuation remains below prior-year highs. The AI Software Story Wall Street Is Underrating
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Marc Benioff said Salesforce’s investment in Anthropic and other AI startups could ultimately be worth “tens of billions,” adding strategic upside beyond Salesforce’s internal AI products. Salesforce’s Investment in Anthropic
• Neutral Sentiment: A Salesforce director purchased roughly $1 million of CRM shares, a signal of insider confidence. The company also continues to offer a quarterly dividend and maintains broad institutional ownership.
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish analysis warns that AI could pressure Salesforce’s traditional software economics, including the profitability of its Agentforce usage-based model. Investors remain concerned that large customers may reduce software spending or build more AI capabilities internally. Salesforce AWU Economics Are Worsening

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 4,176 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $239.33 per share, with a total value of $999,442.08. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 18,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,486,958.84. This trade represents a 28.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total value of $1,172,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,416,936.57. The trade was a 45.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Profile

Salesforce, Inc is a cloud-based software company that provides customer relationship management (CRM) technology and related enterprise applications. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data analytics and business operations through subscription-based software and cloud services.

The company's product portfolio includes Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Data Cloud and the Salesforce Platform. Salesforce also offers Slack for workplace collaboration, Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and artificial intelligence capabilities, including its Agentforce platform for building and deploying AI agents.

Founded in 1999, Salesforce is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and serves businesses and organizations across a broad range of industries and geographic markets worldwide.

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